


Neighbors

by PerrythePlatypusGirl



Series: Sheith Anthology [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Keith has a bb crush on Shiro, M/M, also adam is there for a hot sec, you know the drill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 11:56:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16428938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerrythePlatypusGirl/pseuds/PerrythePlatypusGirl
Summary: Little Keith is best friends with his neighbor, Shiro. He's very fond of him.





	Neighbors

Keith knew from the moment they first met that Shiro would be special to him.

Of course, to a simple-minded five-year-old, any attention from an older kid would feel incredibly special. Something as miniscule as letting his bouncy ball roll away at the park for a twelve-year-old to stop it and toss it back made Keith feel like he just found his best friend for life.

The older kid went back to whatever game he was playing on his phone right after. But Keith didn't stop watching him. He hesitated for a moment, then rolled the big red ball back toward him.

The older boy noticed it coming and stopped it with his foot again. He looked up at Keith, who looked expectant this time. He raised an eyebrow, and kicked it back. Keith beamed.

The boy snorted, but didn't seem annoyed. A quiet game of catch began, Keith rolling the ball to the other kid and him kicking it back while looking at his game.

A short while later, Keith noticed that his parents had gotten up off their bench and joined him on the grassy ground.

"Who's that, Keith?" His mom, Krolia, asked.

Keith shrugged his tiny shoulders. "I don't know. He was playing catch with me."

Keith's dad, Heath, looked over at the older boy curiously. "Isn't that the kid who lives across the street from us?"

"Is he?" said Krolia. "I haven't noticed."

"Can I keep playing with him?" asked Keith.

His dad nodded, and Keith excitedly resumed the game.

For a second the boy looked like he thought he was in trouble. But when Keith's parents made no move to stop him, he relaxed and continued playing with Keith.

A short while later, Keith had to go home. His parents told him to wave goodbye to his new friend, and despite how sad he felt, Keith listened.

\---

Luckily, his sadness didn't last too long. Within the next couple of days, Keith learned some very important things.

First, the boy really did live across the street from them.

Second, his name was Shiro.

Third, Shiro didn't mind Keith's company at all, even if Keith was just sitting around watching him play a video game on his TV.

For the next few weeks, Keith would return home from school and immediately ask, "Can I go to Shiro's house??"

To which his parents would tell him that Shiro finishes school later. Keith would pout, sit by the window, draw some pictures, and wait. Then Shiro would appear walking down the sidewalk, and Keith would grab his mom and bolt outside.

"Shiro! Look! Look what I drew!" he'd say.

And Shiro would smile and ruffle his hair. "Nice job, Keith."

And Keith would feel like the happiest little kid on Earth.

Their parents became friends with each other as well, and that soon led to get togethers every other weekend or so. Keith was never good at making friends at school, so any chance to see Shiro made him ecstatic.

And Shiro, for his part, liked having Keith around. The kid was full of ideas and tons of energy for someone so small. While Shiro had plenty of people his own age to hang out with, he never treated Keith like any less of a friend—and that's probably why Keith liked him so much.

—-

Years passed, and nothing changed--well, okay, some things changed. Namely Shiro. He got taller, his voice got deeper, and every now and then his parents would inform Keith that he would be unable to see him that day because of some emotional teenage drama he was going through. Keith didn't really get it, but when he could, he'd try to make Shiro feel better. Sometimes it would be a drawing or a gift, other times Keith would just hang around him and talk to him--to which Shiro would comment that he missed being a kid and that Keith's stories brought him back to a happier time.

What didn't change, however, was their friendship. Shiro never ever stopped making Keith feel like he was the greatest kid in the whole world. While he wasn't very social at school, Keith had no trouble talking to Shiro. And even during his teenage angst, Shiro could never find it in himself to turn away from his little friend.

At seventeen, Shiro had more or less grown out of his emotional phase and was pretty much the coolest kid in town--both to Keith and to Shiro's own school peers, if what his parents said was anything to go by. Of course that just made Keith even more proud to be his friend.

They were at one of their usual get togethers one day. Shiro had just finished showing Keith how to do some tricks on us bike, and now they were both sitting at a dinner table with their families.

"You're graduating this year, aren't you, Shiro?" Heath asked curiously.

"Yeah," Shiro replied proudly. "I mean, I have to spend this first semester doing college applications, but I'm excited." 

"Are you going away for college?" Keith asked, mouth full.

"Swallow your food, sweetie," Krolia said absentmindedly. 

Shiro smiled and gave Keith a nudge. "Maybe. But don't worry about that now, okay? I still have a whole year."

Keith nodded silently and just went back to his food. 

A few minutes of small talk later, Shiro's phone buzzed. He pulled it out to check on it, and his face immediately brightened. 

"Uh, can I be excused?" Shiro asked his parents, excitement edging into his voice. 

As soon as his mom nodded, Shiro got up out of his seat and headed to the next room, smiling at his phone the whole time. 

Keith watched him go with a frown on his face. "Um, can I be excused too?" 

"Finish your food first," Krolia replied.

Keith grumbled, then proceeded to shovel the rest of his food into his mouth, until his cheeks were stuffed.

"Urmf, ca ah fe efcufe?" He asked again.

Krolia raised an eyebrow, while everyone else at the table suppressed a chuckle. Then Krolia sighed. "Fine, go follow him." 

Keith jumped out of his seat and followed in the direction Shiro had gone, hurriedly chewing what was in his mouth. It took him a minute or two to find Shiro, but when he did, he was suddenly stopped. Usually Keith had no problems running up and getting Shiro's attention, but this time he felt like he was intruding.

Shiro wasn't doing anything. He was just sitting on a chair and texting someone, presumably the person who had taken him away from the table. But something was different about him now. He was smiling so softly, so fondly, a blush on his cheeks, laughing every now and then at the texts. 

Keith wasn't a baby, he knew what that meant. He supposed he should be happy for Shiro, or maybe a little grossed out at all the lovey-dovey gross stuff that had evidently claimed his friend as a victim too. But instead of either of those, he felt a weird, unpleasant twisting in his chest. Something in him wanted to tear Shiro's gaze away from that phone so he could pay attention to Keith again. What was wrong with him?

Keith didn't go talk to Shiro. He just sulked back to the table.  
—-  
It was about a week later that Keith saw the culprit for himself. He'd almost forgotten about the incident by then, but when he saw Shiro across the street with that same fond expression directed at some sandy-haired guy with glasses, it all came rushing back.

Keith was across the street before he even knew what he was doing, still holding his drawing pencils tightly in his hand. Shiro didn't notice, still focused on the other boy that he was shyly holding hands with.

"Shiro!" Keith cried out.

Shiro jumped, then turned to look down at him with wide eyes. So did the other boy. 

"Oh, Keith," Shiro replied. "Where'd you come from? Didn't see you there."

Keith wasted no time. "Who's that?"

"This is Adam. He—."

"Go away, Adam!" Keith shouted, not even stopping to think in his sheer anger. "Shiro's gonna play with _me!"_

"Hey, Keith!" Shiro snapped. He pushed Keith back the few steps he'd taken and glared at him. "What's your problem?"

Adam just laughed it off. "Is he your little brother or something?"

"No, he's the neighbor's kid—look, Keith, I'm sorry, but I don't have time to hang out with you today, ok?"

Keith was just shaken by what was happening. Shiro with a boyfriend. Shiro pushing him away. Shiro treating him like a _little kid._

"B-but you said you would—that you would—would come to my house today a-and—and look at the—the—you said you'd come see the comic book I was making—a-and you said you'd come _today!"_ He was trying not to cry, but in the meantime his words were getting mixed up. 

Shiro didn't look mad anymore, thankfully, but still seemed exasperated. "Tomorrow, okay? I promise I'll come see it tomorrow. You can go now, Alright? Draw more pages for me to see when I come over."

With that, he turned Keith around and gently pushed him down the sidewalk. Keith was still too shocked to resist. 

As he walked away dejectedly, he could still hear Shiro talking to Adam.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why he was acting like that. He's usually a nice kid."

"Poor little guy. I think you broke his heart."

This was followed by quiet laughter from both of them. Keith angrily threw his pencil on the ground and stomped off.  
—-  
Shiro did keep his promise to see him the next day. And their time together never decreased despite Shiro having other people to hang out with. Keith had no reason to be angry, even when Adam was around. For all Keith knew, the guy may have been perfectly nice, but Keith would never find out because he was always busy giving him a death glare. 

Heath would sometimes comment on how "cute" Keith's obvious jealousy was, while Krolia would roll her eyes and say he'd grow out of it. Shiro never said anything about it. He just tried his to make sure that Keith and Adam were never in the same room at the same time.

One day when Keith noticed Adam's recent absence he plopped down next to Shiro and asked, "Did you and Adam break up?"

Shiro took a moment to answer, apparently lost in thought about something else. "No, we just hang out at school more often." 

"Oh." Keith tried not to look too disappointed and moved on to something else. "Are you going to watch the game tomorrow? Mom and Dad have been talking about it a lot, they're really excited."

Shiro nodded with a far off look.

"...Shiro?" 

Shiro blinked at him. "Yeah, yeah I'm probably gonna watch."

"Ok. I'll watch with you. Do you want to do something right now? Mom said I played too many video games today but we can play a board game."

"Yeah, sure."

Keith hopped off his chair and started to head off.

"Hey, Keith."

"Yeah?"

There was something illegible, a little bit sad, in Shiro's eyes when he hesitated. "Nothing. Never mind." 

Keith was a little confused, but he shrugged it off and continued onward to grab a game to play.   
—-  
Things got a bit weird after that. Their families would still hang out together, but Keith noticed that Shiro would sometimes get a little quiet and distant, just like before. Keith wanted to help, He didn't know what to do. Shiro would always shrug it off with a smile when asked if he was okay, and Keith couldn't do much else.

One time, when they were all having dinner together, Keith was coming back from the bathroom when he heard his name being mentioned. He stopped behind the wall, then paused where he wasn't seen to listen. 

"Keith's probably gonna be devastated to find out, though," Heath was saying. "He completely adores you."

"I know," Shiro replied softly. "I'm trying to break it to him gently, but I don't know how. Don't really know how to deal with kids in this sort of thing."

"We'll tell him," Krolia answered firmly. "Soon. Don't worry about it. Good luck to you either way, Shiro. You're going to do amazing in college."

"Thank you."

The conversation moved on and Keith just frowned to himself. Tell him what? What was going on??  
—-  
Keith's parents were busy that week and whatever they needed to tell him apparently slipped their minds. Keith was debating whether or not to ask, then decided that he'd rather not hear any bad news. It was easier to pretend nothing was wrong.

Keith grabbed his video game cartridge when he saw Shiro coming down the sidewalk that day. He was excited, but it was evident that something was wrong. Shiro didn't seem too happy. In fact, he was hunched over and glaring at the ground so hard that he didn't even notice Keith trotting over.

"Hi, Shiro."

Shiro looked up and his expression softened. "Oh, Keith. Uh, sorry buddy, I-I don't think I can play games with you today." 

Shiro looked like he was about to cry, and that set off a million alarms in Keith's little mind. 

"What's wrong?" 

"I don't want to talk about it," Shiro snapped. Then he realized how harsh he sounded. "Sorry, didn't mean to yell at you. It's just..."

He frowned at the ground again, taking a few steps toward his house. Then he stopped abruptly and turned to Keith again.

"Word of advice, Keith," he said firmly. "Don't stay with anyone who can't respect the choices you make."

Keith didn't understand. He just wanted Shiro not to be upset anymore. 

Shiro rubbed his head and took a deep breath. "What game did you bring?" 

Keith held up the cartridge "Monster Hunter 3." 

"I changed my mind. Let's play." 

"Will that make you feel better?"

Shiro finally smiled. "Yeah. Come on, buddy, let's go."   
—-  
"Shiro and I played a game today," Keith randomly announced at dinner that night. "He beat all the levels. He's really good."

Heath blinked. "Oh, yeah, that's awesome, sport—uh, Krolia, did you tell him already?"

Krolia has stiffened already and she shook her head. "No, I...I forgot."

Keith felt that unease in his stomach again. "What do you guys need to tell me?"

Heath pushed his food around his plate with his fork. "Well, bud, Shiro is...well, he's planning to—."

"He's moving away," Krolia finished, gently but straight to the point.

Time felt like it suddenly stopped for Keith. He heard the clink of his fork as it hit his plate but didn't look away. "W-what? Moving where?"

"He's going to Japan for college," Heath told him hurriedly. "And his parents are going too—to be close to him and to take care of his grandparents."

_"Japan??"_ Keith shouted. "B-but that's like on the other side of the world!"

"I know, buddy, I know. But that's what he decided on."

"But _why??_ There's lots of colleges here! A-and why would he want to leave his friends??"

Krolia shrugged. "It's his decision, Keith. We can't tell him what to do. And what about his grandparents? Someone needs to stay with them, they're getting old." 

"His parents can go! He can stay!"

"By himself?" Heath supplied gently. "They want to be near each other, Keith. This just happened to be the best solution for all of them. We can't force him to stay."

"But...but I don't want him to go..." Keith whined, trying to stop the tears. "He's my friend..."

His parents were quiet for a moment, Keith's snuffles filling the air around them. Then Heath got up and tapped Keith on the shoulder. 

"Come on, buddy, everything's gonna turn out fine. Listen, let's get you washed up and finish dinner now, okay? We'll work this out."

Keith didn't believe that, but he nodded anyway. His dad took his hand and helped him wash his face, but it didn't make him feel any better.

—-

Keith confronted Shiro about it the next day. "Are you really moving to Japan?"

Shiro took a moment to answer, but he nodded.

Keith could already feel the tears welling up, but he pushed them away. "D-do you have to?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Keith, but it's for my future, and my family, and..." he didn't finish, but he didn't need to.

Keith was already looking at the ground. Then his nodded and started to hurriedly turn away. "I need to go do something. I'll be back."

Shiro didn't try to stop him.

A few hours later, Keith was at his door with a folded piece of paper in his hands. He stepped into the house, face more serious than Shiro had ever seen him.

"This is for you."

Shiro hesitated, surprised that Keith even came back, and then took the paper from him slowly.

"S-sorry if it's messy," Keith said quietly. "I had to make it really quick...before you left."

Shiro didn't know how to reply. He simply opened the paper to reveal a drawing and a note. Scribbled in stick figures that vaguely resembled himself and Keith, happily standing side by side. The note at the top was as messy as a ten-year-old's handwriting would be.

_"To Shiro,"_ it read. _"I'm sad that you have to leave, but I hope you have a good life in Japan. You've been my best friend ever since I met you, and I will never forget you. Please don't forget me either. Your friend, Keith."_

"Shiro, are you crying?" Keith suddenly asked in alarm.

Shiro hurriedly reached up to wipe his eyes. "No, I-I...I really like this, Keith, I just thought that—." He took a breath and looked down at his wide-eyed friend. Kneeling down, Shiro put a hand on Keith's shoulder and smiled at him as much as he could.

"Thank you so much, Keith. You have no idea how much this means to me. And of course I won't forget you. I never could."

Keith gulped, trying and failing to swallow down his emotions. Then he took a step forward and hugged Shiro as tightly as he could.

—-

They shared another hug on the day Shiro left, and Keith had to force himself to let go.

Shiro and his parents all had their bags packed in their car and a moving van was already on its way to the airport. Keith's parents were finishing up their goodbyes to Shiro's parents. It was time for them to leave, but Keith still didn't want it to happen.

It was Shiro who finally pulled them apart and gently pushed Keith into the waiting arms of his parents.

"Take care of yourself, okay, buddy?" Shiro said gently. "We'll see each other again one day."

Keith didn't trust himself to say anything without crying. He simply nodded.

Shiro stood, waved goodbye, and slowly got into the car. He cast one last look at Keith and his family, and then they drove away for what felt like would be the last time

—-

Ten years passed.

At twenty years old, Keith was a typical college student working a part time job and struggling to stay awake most of the time. It didn't help his mood that his fellow workers at this coffee shop were loud and obnoxious.

...well, okay, most of his co-workers were fine. It was just a couple who annoyed him. Just one. Just Lance.

Said headache was currently flirting obnoxiously with a regular named Allura while Hunk and Pidge were chattering about upgrading the coffee machines. Keith finished up the order he was working on and sighed to himself. Every day was exactly the same around here. He was just hoping that something, anything, would come along and brighten his day.

"Double tall latte with caramel and whipped cream," Keith called out boredly. He slid the cup across the counter, where a tall, shocked-looking man was waiting. "Have a nice day."

He was about to turn away to his next task, when suddenly the man spoke. "Uh—hold on."

Keith stopped and turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

Now that Keith was able to get a better look at him, there was something...interesting about this man. He was handsome, for sure, and the prosthetic arm and scars definitely stood out, but there was something else. Keith couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe it was the way he was currently gaping at him like a goldfish.

"No, sorry, it's just—" the man stammered. "You—I know you, don't I? You look like—" his gaze fell downward toward Keith's name tag, and his expression brightened. "Keith! Oh my gosh, it _is_ you!"

Keith was just more confused now, and part of him wanted to run away. "I'm sorry, uh...who are you, exactly?"

The man's smile faltered slightly. "What? You didn't forget me, did you? Come on, we lived across the street from each other as kids. We used to hang out all the time."

And then it clicked.

"No way— _Shiro??"_

"Yeah!" Shiro's face brightened again and his smile got bigger. "I can't believe I just ran into you here!"

Keith needed a second to get over his shock. "I—neither can I. It been years, I didn't even recognize you."

"Yeah, I noticed. I don't blame you, I look pretty different—oh my gosh, we seriously need to catch up. When does your shift end?"

"I have a lunch break in two hours."

"No problem, I'll be waiting. It's so good to see you again."

Keith went back to his work with a huge smile on his face, glancing at the clock several times every minute. Hunk and Pidge were watching him.

"Keith, who was _that?"_ Hunk asked slyly.

"An old friend," Keith responded. He was too elated to notice the knowing look his coworkers gave each other.

Lunch break rolled around at last and Keith hurriedly grabbed his stuff to meet Shiro at a table.

Shiro had grabbed a pastry and was apparently waiting just as eagerly. His smile widened again when Keith slid into the seat in front of him.

"Hey," Shiro greeted, breathless.

"Hey," said Keith. He paused, squeezing his cup and wondering what to say next. He wanted so badly to talk to him but he had no idea where to start. "It's...been so long."

"Tell me about it," replied Shiro. "You're older now—well, I mean, duh, it's been ten years."

"Ten years," Keith repeated. He took in Shiro's appearance again. What had injured him and caused him to go grey so early? His stomach lurched at the idea of something bad happening to his old best friend, but he held his tongue. "So—when did you get back to the States? How has Japan been?"

Shiro took a sip of his drink. "Mm, it was great, but I am glad to be back. I moved back a year ago for a new job. Parents wouldn't let me go any sooner, even after I already graduated," he snorted. "Forgot how laid back this place could be compared to Tokyo. And then I got transferred here, so I thought I'd come check out my old neighborhood. I'm glad to see you're still around."

He smiled at Keith over his cup, which of course made Keith flush and look at the table.

"Yep, that's me," Keith replied dryly. "The loser who never travels."

Shiro laughed quietly. "That's not really a bad thing. Are you still in college?"

"Yep. Just a couple more years till I get out of there. Then I can finally get a real job."

"What are you studying?"

"Aerospace. I wanted to go to the Garrison up North, but mom wouldn't let me out of her sight. It's fine, though, my school's got a decent program."

"Oh, Krolia," Shiro said. "Yeah, that sounds like her. I'd love to see her again."

"You should come over, she'd want to see you too," replied Keith. "We're still living in the exact same spot."

"Awesome. What about your dad, how's he been?"

Keith's face suddenly fell. "Oh, uh, actually...we, we lost Dad few years ago." He hurriedly took a sip of his drink, not looking at Shiro. The coffee suddenly felt like it was burning.

Shiro's smile was gone too. "Keith, I-I so sorry—"

"It's okay," Keith cut him off. "Really, it's fine. We've learned to live with it. It was a long time ago anyway." He took a breath, shook his head, and smiled again. "Anyway, you haven't told me about your job."

Shiro blinked. "Oh, right."

They kept chatting, catching up and making easy conversation as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Keith easily lost track of the time and probably would have stayed there all day if Pidge hadn't hollered at him to get back to work.

"Guess my break's over," Keith told Shiro, disappointment obvious in his voice. "I have to go."

Shiro nodded and stood up with him. "Yeah, I'd better get going too." He paused, apparently not sure what else to say. "Uh, I'd like to see you again, though, do you think we can meet up again after work?"

Keith smiled. "Actually, if you want, you can drop by my place later. You remember our street, right?"

Shiro grinned widely again. "How could I forget? I'll be there at seven."

After Shiro left the shop, Keith went back to work feeling happier than he had in a long time. At one point he even caught himself humming, and the coworkers noticed too. He didn't really care, though. Not even when Lance's annoying voice cut through the air with, "How the hell did _Keith_ manage to land a guy who looks like _that??"_

—-

When the doorbell rang that evening, Keith could barely contain his own excitement. Before Shiro could even say hello, Keith was already giving him a joyful hug.

For a second they both froze. Shiro hugged back, of course, but Keith was already embarrassed. He shyly pulled away from Shiro and gestured toward the living room. "Uh, come on in."

"Thanks," Shiro replied, just as soft. That was new. "Uh, I got you something, also." He pulled out a rectangular box of chocolate and handed it to Keith.

"Aw, you didn't have to," Keith began, but he was interrupted by a voice from upstairs.

"Keith?" Krolia called out. "Who's at the door?"

Keith grinned widely. "Come see for yourself!"

Shiro and Keith exchanged an excited smile as they listened to Krolia's footsteps coming down the stairs. When she appeared, Krolia looked apprehensive at first, but the recognition and surprise became quickly obvious in her expression when she saw Shiro. She closed her eyes in disbelief.

"Holy fucking shit."

Shiro laughed. "You haven't changed at all, Krolia." He held out his hand to shake. "It's great to see you aga—"

Krolia pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

Shiro had to gasp for air, and Keith stifled a laugh.

"I-I don't remember your family being so physically affectionate," Shiro coughed.

"We usually aren't," Keith agreed. He stepped forward to join the hug. "But you're an exception. Welcome back, Shiro."

Shiro smiled again. "It's good to be back."

—-

Within the next few weeks spending time with Shiro, Keith learned some very important things.

First, Shiro's injuries had come from an accident about a year ago. Shiro seemed fine talking about it, but Keith had verbally promised to find the person responsible for the accident and make them pay with their own money for Shiro's prosthetic. He was joking, of course. Sort of.

Second, Shiro was planning to stay in the area for as long as he could. He'd already liked this neighborhood, but apparently seeing Keith again just gave him more reason to stay. Keith definitely didn't blush like a dumb hormonal teenager when he'd heard that, nope.

Third, he'd actually kept Keith's old goodbye drawing.

Keith had almost laughed when Shiro handed that folded old paper to him, not expecting to see that blast from the past on it.

"You actually kept this piece of crap?" Keith snorted.

Shiro pouted. "It's not a piece of crap! That's special! Of course I kept it."

Keith flushed and shrugged, giving the paper back to Shiro. "Th-thanks. I guess it didn't realize—" he paused, shaking his head. "N-never mind. I'm touched, it's just, kind of weird to see my old drawing."

Shiro have him a lopsided grin. "I assume you're a better artist now?"

Keith shrugged again. "It's more of a hobby, but I would like to think so."

"Could you draw me sometime?"

Keith smacked the drawing into Shiro's chest. "Why? You already like this drawing so much already."

Shiro pouted childishly. "Keith..."

"I'll think about it."

It was dumb, but Shiro's dorky smile made him internally resolve to draw a million portraits of him if that's what he wanted. Apparently, despite all those years apart, Keith's admiration for Shiro had never truly gone away.

—-

Keith went over to Shiro's apartment after work one day, just to relax. The place was warm, brightly lit, and the couch was too comfy to get off. Keith felt a little bad that he was making Shiro do all the work making food while he sat around, but his friend didn't seem to mind.

"Sorry this place is so small," Shiro said as he plopped down next to Keith with some sandwiches. "I'm saving up to move somewhere bigger."

"I like this, actually," Keith replied. "It's cozy. I wouldn't mind living in a place like this with someone."

Shiro paused, staring at him for a second. "O-oh, yeah. Having a roommate would be nice."

"Roommates are so...impersonal, though," Keith shrugged. "Had one my freshman year, and we barely talked. It was pretty awkward. Maybe with a friend, though."

Shiro stares directly at the floor. "Mm, yeah. A friend."

He seemed tense for some reason. Keith raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

Shiro nodded hurriedly. "Yeah, I'm fine. You, uh, you wanna watch a movie or something?"

Keith hesitated. "...sure. What have you got?"

Shiro picked out some action flick, and they both settled down to watch. In the middle of the movie, Shiro got up off the couch and gave Keith a smile. "I'm going to refill the popcorn."

Keith nodded and let him go...only to realize fifteen minutes later that Shiro hadn't returned, and he no longer heard any popping noises. Keith frowned and forced himself to get off the couch. He checked to see if Shiro had gone to the bathroom, but the door was wide open with no one inside.

Then he heard Shiro's voice coming from the direction of the bedroom— _"God, I'm so fucking stupid, I don't know what I was thinking."_

Keith just frowned deeper, cautiously heading toward the door, which was slightly ajar. He pushed it slowly and peeked his head in. Shiro was leaning against a mirror on the wall, still muttering to himself about how pathetic he was and how "he's going to hate me."

Keith didn't know what was going on, but anything that made Shiro this upset was enough to make him jump into action. He pushed the door fully open and stepped inside the room. "Shiro?"

Shiro flinched so hard that he hit his head on a high shelf, hissing in pain and making Keith feel worse.

Keith was next to him before he knew it, holding his hands out apologetically. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you—are you okay?"

Shiro was just befuddled. "What are you doing in here?"

Keith flushed. "Sorry, it's just that—you were gone for a while, and I got worried."

Shiro blinked, then sighed. He rubbed a hand over his face and said nothing.

"...Shiro, what's going on?" Keith asked quietly. "You're acting strange. Please tell me what's wrong."

Shiro's hand was still covering half his face, but he was still obviously red as he avoided eye contact with Keith. "I'm sorry, I've been meaning to tell you, but...I keep chickening out."

"Tell me what?"

Shiro took a deep breath, steeling himself. He spoke shakily. "Keith...would it be weird if I said I was starting to...like you?"

Keith froze. _What???_

Shiro took one look at his face and immediately started backtracking. "Uh, I mean—not like that—well, no, actually, yes, _like that,_ because you're so different now, you're cool, and smart, and you're an amazing friend—but, that's okay! If you don't feel the same, and you just want to be friends, that's fine too, really! It's just, I—I really admire you, and I like you, but—I won't force you into anything you don't want, so—oh my God, just kill me now."

Keith's brain had already shut down and was currently trying to reboot, all while being bombarded by Shiro's nervous rambling. Shiro being nervous was something new, but that wasn't the point.

Shiro was confessing a _crush._ On _him._ And that just made no sense because Shiro was so much cooler, and clearly Keith should be the one admiring and crushing around here.

"Sh-Shiro," Keith finally stammered. "I—are you serious?"

Shiro looked up from his hands, trying to analyze Keith's shocked, blank expression. "Y-yes?" He replies timidly. "I just—I don't know. Ever since I got back, it's been...different. I just think you're really amazing, Keith." He gulped, and hung his head in resignment. "But it's okay. I understand, you don't feel the same...right?"

Shiro's puppy eyed hopeful expression made a warm feeling spread in Keith's chest. Of course. He'd always loved Shiro.

"Shiro," Keith breathed. "You're my best friend. Of course I feel the same." He felt the blush spread on his face and rubbed his neck shyly. "Truth, is, I'm...pretty sure I had a crush on you when we were little kids, and...apparently...I still do."

Shiro looked bewildered. "You do? Even despite...this?" He held up his prosthetic arm.

Keith's jaw dropped. "Yes! That doesn't change anything, you're still you and I still care about you more than anything."

The words were tumbling out of Keith's mouth, and if it were anyone else he would have regretted it immediately. But this was Shiro, _his_ Shiro, taking in those words with shining eyes and obvious joy that Keith adored.

A smile appeared on Shiro's face. "Really?" he whispered.

"Yeah."

They paused, and then Shiro laughed in relief. Keith joined him, feeling sheepish. Was this really happening? Was he dreaming?

"Uh, so..." Shiro began. "Now what?"

Keith shrugged. "You're the one who's dated people before. You tell me."

"Well—this is different though."

Keith chuckled.

Shiro put his hands into his pockets. "You wanna just...go finish that movie for now?"

Keith nodded.

The atmosphere on the couch was so much more relaxed now. And warmer. So much warmer. By the end of the movie, Keith was pressed up against Shiro, who had an arm around him.

Keith had known from the second they met that Shiro would be special to him. And Keith had always had good instincts.


End file.
